Book.



s., s. BROWNE.

BooK. n

APPLIOATION FILED 00T. Z3, 1911.

Patented 0013.7, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. S. BROWNE.

BOOK.

APPLICATION I'ILBD 00T. 23, 1911.

Patented 0ct.7,1913.

E. s. BROWNE. BOOK.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 23, 1911.

Patented Oct. '7, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

www3.,

EDWIN S. BBOWNE, 0F RVERTON, NEW JERSEY.

BOOK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ct. 7, 11913;,

Application filed October 23, 1911. Serial No. 656,160.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EDwiN S. Browne, a citizen of the United States, residing at Riverton, in the county of Burlington and s State of New Jersey, have invented'certain new and useful improvements in Books; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ot' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

The present invention relates to boo-ks, and more particularly to books of the loose leaf or loose unit type.

The object of the present invention is to produce a loose unit book which has provision whereby a plurality of sets of loose units or signatures may be independently retained in the binder cover, which'is pleasing in appearance and cheap to manufacture, and which is particularly suitable for a check book.

With the above object in view the present intention consists in the loose unit book hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective View of the-check book opened illustrating the manner in which the filler units may be inserted; Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the binder plate-detached; Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken'v along the line 3---3 of F ig. 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4eof Fig. 2, and showing in dotted lines the'manner in which the binder plate is secured in the cover; Fig. l5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing abinder-hook open and a signature placed thereon; Fig. 6 is a front VView of a check record signature ;'Fig. 7 is a front view of a check signature; Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the form of wire staple or stitch used as-a fastening device for the signatures; Fig. 9 is a view of a check record signature laid flat showing the innermost pages; Fig. 10 is a view of a check signature laid flat showing the innermost pages; and Fig. 11 is a perspective View illustrating the manner in which the check record and check sections are assembled before being placed in the binder.

The binder comprises front and back covers 1 and 2 anda connecting back portion 3 in which is placed a binder plate 4. The inner lining 5 is laid over'the binder plate and over the bottoms of the binder-arch sockets so that the only metal which is exposed is the wires which constitute the binding devices or binder-yokes. Two sets of binding devices or binder-yokes are employed and which, for convenience of des1gnation, will be spoken of as binder-hooks and binder-arches. Each binder-hook 6 is formed of a piece of spring wire and has a hook portion 7, upon which the signatures are held or strung, and an axle portion 8, by means of which the binder-hook is mounted in the binder plate. The axles 8 are provided with offset portions 9 which act as the catches to hold the hooks in open and in closed positions. Each binder-arch 10 is formed of a single piece of spring wire and comprises an arch portion 11 upon which the filler units are held or strung, and two substantially parallel legs 12 which extend at right angles to the plane of the arch portion and by means of which the binderarch is snapped or secured in the binder plate. rlhe binder plate 4 consists of a single piece of sheet metal which is bent over at its sides and ends. rlhe bent over edge along one side is curled about in three places to form cylindrical tubes 20 in which the axles of the binder-hooks are `iournaled. rthe two portions of this edge between the tubes 20 are bent up at 19 and over at 2l to form chambers of substantially right-triangular cross section in which the offset portions 9 of the binder-hook axles are received. When a binder-hook is opened or closed, its axle turns in the tubes 2O which are in line with the lower left hand corner of the triangular chamber, as sho-wn in Figs. 3 and 5, and the offset portion 9 slides along the overturned portion or lip 21 of the binder plate. The binder-hooks are made of resilient spring wire so that when lthe offset portion 9 is turned against the lip 2l, the otlset portion will be flat-tened somewhat toallow the axle to turn. When the binder-hook 6 is in open and in closed positions, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 3 respectively, the resilient ofset portion 9 springs or bows out so that in these positions it lies against those walls of the triangular chamber which are formed by the upturned part 9 of the edge and by the flat back of the binder-plate respectively and which constitutes the two legs of the right triangle of cross section of the chamber. The over and downwardly turnedli 21 along the inner surface ofy which the o set 9 with apertures 23 near its bent-u Bil' slides'forms-the third side or hypotenuse of this right triangle.

It is obvious that the resilient offset 9 will hold the binder-hook either open or closed and that because of the flattening of the offset when moved along the lip 21 the binder hook will snap to either full open or closed position. r1`his construction of binderhcok is very cheap to manufacture, is easily snapped open and closed and is securely held in both open and closed positions. The opposit edge of the metal sheet forming the binder plate is bent up and over to form a lip 22 which lies over the down turned ends of the lips 21 and makes the binder plate of uniform thickness. The lip 22 is formed portion to receive the free ends of the bin er-hooks 6 when they are closed. To lform sockets for the receptionrof the binder-arches the opposite edgesof the binder plates are bent up and over to form two pairs of inwardly extending lips 24 and 25. These lips form oppositely-facing laterally-opening recesses in which are held the legs l2 of the binderarches. `The edge 28 of the lip 24 is cut in a direction parallel with the axis of the binder plate. The edge of the lip 25 is cut back along the portion 29 in a direction inclined to the axis of the binder plate, and is then `cut lsharply back at 26 at right angles to the axisof the binder plate. When the binderarch is inserted one leg is placed in the recess under the lip 24 and the opposite leg is pressed down along the inclined edge 29 untill it is snapped under the lip 25. .l/Vhen the leg of the binder-arch is pressed against the inclined edge 29 the inclined edge wedges the leg toward the opposite leg until itv is parallel with the inclined edge 29, whereupon it will snap underl the lip Because of the sharply cut back edge 2G, the inclined edge 29 is wholly beyond the leg /after it is snapped beneath the lip s0 that the inclined edge cannot act as a wedge to allow the leg to be pushed out of the recess in case the binder-arch is pulled upwardly.

' The`stubs which are strung by staples on the binder-arches 11 are intended to be torn les g edge 29 to pry the leg from the recess under the lip 25. After the stubs of the check signatures are all torn olf the binder-arch 11, the binder-yokes are easily removed by being pulled endwis'efrom their sockets. For

l the purpose of aiding such removal, the extreme ends 0f the -lipsof the back plate are bent over at 30 and are provided with tongues 31 which extend to the ybottom of over which the binder-arches are easily slipped out endwise.

r1`he tips of the plate are bent up and over the side lips at 32 to form nished endsfor the binder plate. To open the binder-hooks when only the record signatures are left in the binder cover,'the binder cover is laid flat with all the signatures lying against the front cover. The front cover and signatures are grasped between the thumb and fingers of the left hand and the back cover grasped with the right hand. By a slight pull, the signatures will lift the hooks 6 into their open position, andthe signatures may be removed therefrom. Or the hook 6 may be grasped with the ngers andeasily opened. New signatures may then be placed on the open hooks and laid against the front cover. To close the binder-hooks, the back cover .is closed, and by the pressure of the thumb against the back plate, the back plate and hooks are squeezed together, the ends ofthe hooks snapping into the holes 23.

rlhe check record signature 40 (or record signature, as it will be designated for convenience), which constitutes one of the fuller units, consists of a plurality of sheets of paper folded upon themselves.

The folded edge of the record signature is cut with two sets of notches 41 and 42, the notches 42 being cut somewhat deeper than the notches 41. rilhe sheets of the signature are fastened together by wire staples or stitches 43, 44 and 45. The staples 43 and 44 are inserted over the notches 41. The straight medial portion 46 of each staple eX- tends across and closes the open mouth of the notch 41, and the ends 47 0f the staple are inserted through the folded edge of the signature and clenched on its inner face, as shown in Fig. 8. The staple 45 is put through the middle of the folded edge and acts only to hold the sheets together. The staples 43 and 44, however, perform the double function of securing devices for holding the sheets of the signature together and of fastening devices by means of which the signature is held or threaded on the binding dev vices or yokes of the binder cover. These wire stitches or staplesare similar to those asas-aca the other pages printed for the'entiy of checks, for a purpose to ybe hereinafter described.

Flhecheck sections or signatures 5) are formed of a plurality of sheets of paper folded on themselves. The folded edges of the check signatures are provided with two sets of notches 51 and 52. The notches 5l and 52 are cut at points on the folded edge of the check signature to coincide with the notches 42 and 41 respectively of a record signature. These notches 51 and 52 are both out tothe same depth. The sheets off the check signature are secured together by Wire staples 53, 54 and 55, in a manner exactly similar to the check record sections. rlhe check sheets are perforated or indented at 56 in the usual manner so that the checks may be torn out. The checks on the rst haltE of the pages of the signature are printed to face toward the front lof the hinder While the checks printed on the'second haii of. the signature are printed to face toward the back.

A number of: check signatures are assembled with a single record signature to form a composite record and check signature section. ln forming the iirst composite signature for use in the book, single check signatures are inserted between all of the leaves of the record signatures, the manner of afs--` sembling being 'illustrated in Fig. 11, the

notches 51 and- 52 coinciding with the notches 42 and 41 respectively. llhe staples 43 and 44 of the record section bridge the ends of the notches 41, and the straight medial portions oft' the staples thus coincide with the inner edge o-f the composite signature. The staples 53 and 54 of the check signatures bridge the ends of the notches 51, and the straight medial portions of these staples thus coincide with the inner edges of the check signatures. The notches 42 in the record signatures which coincide with the notches 51 of the check signatures are therefore bridgedy across somewhat back from their open ends by the plurality of staples 53 and 54 of the check signatures. The binder-arches 10y are inserted through the notches 42 behindf the staples 53 and 54, and thus act to hold the check signatures in the record signature so that the' compound signature may be supplied as a single composite unit. In securing this composite signaturein the binder cover the binderhoolts 6 are first opened, and the composite. signature is placed on the binderhool'cs by slipping its stapled notches over free ends of the hooks and lai-d against the `front cover. The back cover is then laid' over and the two' covers are pressed together near the binder-hooks to snap the binderhooks closed. The signature and the front cover are perfectly held-togetherxhy the thumb and fingers of the left hand when the front cover to prevent the staples 43' and 44 from slipping o' the binder-hooks. The back cove-r isthen raised, leaving the signatures lying against the front cover. The binder-arches are then secured into their sockets by'inserting one of the legs of each arch under one ofthe lips 24 and` snapping the other leg under one of the lips 25, as hereinbcfore described. The composite signature is novv secured in the binder cover and is ready for use.

The checli hooh is now in the condition in which it is intended that it shall he initially given by the bank to the depositor. The number of entry spaces on the second page of the record signature is equal to the number ofV checks in the first check signature which face this record page. Atiter these forwardly facing checks of the rst check signature are used, the record page checks in the first check signature have been.

used, the third page is balanced, and the stub ofv the used cheek signatures is ont. Then the check signature which lies between the fourth and fth pages of 'the record signature is used andthe record oir' the checks drawn is entered on the fourth and fifth pages of the record signature-and Soon, until all the checlr signatures in the composite check record and check simiature are used. Vllhen 'the last check'signature inthe composite signature has been used, all of the entry sheets of the record signature will have been used except the. very last page.. A second composite unitl of record and check signatures is supplied by bank to be inserted in the cover. ond composite signature resembles the rst, except that the first pa e of the record section is printed to recor deposits and checksdrawn, and that a separate or entrevv check signature is bplaced on the front of the second composite section, as illustrated in Fig. 1. As is supplied by thebank this com posite signature carries its own Wire binderarches 10. These hinder-arches may he turned so that their legs lie back over the outsideof the composite signature, and thus act to hold the section together in assembled arrangement. To insert` the second com-- posite signature, the previously used'record sheets are laid against the front cover, and the binder-hooks 6 snap fopen, as herein before described. The 'inder-arches- 1010i the previously used composite filler' arethen. sliped end-.wise out of their sockets. i The record sheets: are, however, retained in the. binden cover on the binder hooksv 6, laid against the front coverof the binder.

This sec signatures.

The composite check record and check section can now be yinserted in the manner similar to that in which the first section was inserted. The eXtra check signature placed on the front of this second composite signature faces the unused last page of the previous record signature upon which the first half of the checks in the eXtra check signature are to be recorded. The second half of the checks of'this eXtra check signature are to be recorded upon the front page of the second record signature. This insures that all of the pages of the check record signatures are used. After the eXtra check signature is used the first page of the second record signature is turned over and the checks entered in a manner similar to which the checks were entered in the first signature.

Subsequent composite signatures like the second signature are supplied by the bank to be inserted as needed, and so on. The used record signatures are to be kept in the cover as long as they are needed for reference. After anumber of used record signatures has accumulated in the book they may be taken out and filed away.

The binder-arches and binder-hooks act to separatelvhold the two sets of signatures, namely, the check signatures andthe record The binder-arches thus act as a temporary binding means for the check signatures while the binder hooks act as a permanent binding means for the record signatures. check signatures lie between the leaves of the record signature, the check signatures will act asan additional means to hold their inclosing record signature in the cover.l

, ture will be held only by the binder-hooks.

After theebank has supplied a depositor with a cover and an initial signature of record and check sections, the only additional expense is that of supplying the subsequent composite signatures. This is an obvious saving on the part of the bank over the usual method of supplying each time-a new cover with permanently bound checks yto .the de- I check signatures irrespective of the sequence f the binder'plate 4. y

therefore, secure the checkrecord slgnatures,

positor. Moreover, the present check 'book is much more convenient for the use of the depositor, since itl allows him to keep a record of former checks in the same book from which he 'is using checks.-

- The binder-hooks 6 and binder-arches 10 are located along the binder plate 4 in ,lon-

1t may be noted that since thev or order in which the signatures may be arranged in' the binder.

While the form of the invention illustrated in the drawings and described in the foregoing description constitutes the preferred form of the invention because of its simplicity, it is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms Within the scope of the following claims:

1. A loose leaf check book, having, in combination, a cover, a binder-plate in the cover, two sets of binder-yokes mounted in said binder-plate, a check signature, and a record signature, each comprising sheets of paper folded upon themselves and having notches cut in their folded edges to it over both sets of binder-yokes, the check signature being provided with wire staples extending over the ends of the notches engaged by one set of binder-yokes and the record signature being provided with wire staples extending over the ends of the notches engaged by the other set of binder-yokes, substantially as described.

2. A loose leaf check book, having, in combination, a cover, a binder-plate in the cover, two set-s of binder-yokes mounted in the binder-plate, a record signature comprising a plurality of sheets of paper folded upon themselves, a plurality of checksignatures' placed between the pages of the record signature', each check signature comprising a plurality of sheets of paper folded upon themselves, said record and check signatures forming a composite record-signature having a plurality of notches cut in its folded edge, and wire staples for each signature eX- tending over the open ends of certain of the notches in said signature and clenched through the sheets of paper to permanently secure them together, the staples of the record signature extending over the notches engaging one set of binder-yokes and the staples of` the check signature extending over the notches engaged by the other set of binder-yokes, substantially as described.

3. A loose leaf book, having, in combination, a cover, a plurality of sets of filler units, and a correspondingnumberof sets of binding devices located on the cover in longitudinal alinement and in proximity to each other for holding the filler units -in substantially the same longitudinal position in the cover, each set of binding devices being adapted to engage and removably" secure one of the sets of the ller units, whereby each set of filler units is separately secured in the cver, substantially as described.

` 4. A composite record'and check signature for a loose leaf checkbook, having, in

combination, a record signature comprising a'plurality of sheets of paper foldedupon themselves, check signatures comprising-.ia plurality of of paper foldedQ upoil` themselves placed between the leaves of the record signature, all of said signatures havy of coinciding binder-receivtheir folded edges, astening devices on the record signature over the open ends of certain of the notches, and fastening devices on the check signature over the open ends of certa-in other of the notches, substantially as described.

5. A composite signature for a loose leaf book comprising a sheet of paper folded upon itself and having binder-receiving notches cut in its folded ed e, fastening devices over the Yopen ends o certain of said notches, a second sheet of paper folded upon itself and having binder-receiving notches out in its folded edge coinciding with the notches of the first sheet, and fastening devices over the open ends of certain of said notches not coinciding with the notches closed by the fastening devices of the first sheet, said second sheet being placed between the leaves of the first sheet, substantially as described.

6. A binder for a loose unit book, having, in combination, a cover, a back plate in the cover, a spring. binder-arch comprising two substantially parallel legs and a connecting arch portion, said back plate having overturned lips at its sides to form a socket with ing a plurality ing notches cut in oppositely opening recesses under the lips to "combination, a cover, a

receive the legs of the binder-arch, one of said lips having its free edge extending in a direction inclined to the .axis of the back plate whereby the corresponding leg may be snapped into the socket from one side, substantially as described. n

7. A binder for loose units, having, in binder-plate in the cover, and means for removably securing the units within the cover comprising two binder-arches adapted to removably receive the loose units, each having a. curved head and a pair of legs of spring material extending at an angle therefrom, said binder-plate having a pair of sockets having provision for the reception of legs of the binder-arches therein only when the legs are directed in opposite directions, ysubstantially as descri-bed.

8. A` loose leaf book having, in combination, connecting back portion, a lplurality of sets of filler units, and a corresponding number of sets of fastening devices located. in proximity to the connecting back portion of the binder each set of fastening devices having provision for securing the units of a particular set of\filler units in the binder irrespective of the sequence in which they are ara binder comprising two covers and af ranged relatively to the units of the other set or sets, substantially as described.

9. A binder for a loose unit book having, in combination, a cover, a binder plate in the cover, and means for securing thea units within the cover comprising two binderarches adapted to receive the loose units each having an arched head and a pair of legs of spring material extending at an angle therefrom, said binder plate having ra pair of sockets having provision for the reception of the legs of the binder-arches therein only when the legs are directed in opposite directions and arranged for the insertion ofthe legs sidewise into the sockets and the removal of the legs cndwise from the sockets, substantially asdescribed.

l0. A loose leaf book having, in combination, a cover, a filler unit, and means for securing the filler unit in the cover comprising two binder-arches supplied with and connected to the filler unit, each binder-arch having an arched head and a pair of legs of spring material extending at an angletherefrom, and a binder plate in the cover having a pair of sockets arranged to permit. the binder-arches to be inserted sidewise therein with their legs extending in opposite directions when they are connected with the filler unit and to be'removed endwise therefrom after the filler unit has been torn from them, substantially as described.

11. A loose leaf check book having, in combination, a cover, a binder plate in the cover, a check signature, a record signature, a set of binder-yokes mounted in the binder plate for securing the record signature, and a second set of binder-yokes supplied `with and connected to the'check signature, said binder plate having sockets adapted to receive the second set of binder-yokes when the check signature is inserted and from which the binder-yokes may be removed after the check signature is torn out, substantially as described.

12. A loose leaf book having, in combination, a binder comprising two covers and a connecting back portion, a binder plate in the connecting back portion, a plurality of sets of filler units, and a corresponding number of sets of wire binder-yokes located along the binder plate in longitudinal alinement and having substantially the same lateral span for separately securing each set of filler units in the binder, substantially as described.

EDWIN S. BROW'NE. Witnesses: v

GEORGE E. STEBBINS, ALICE AoKRoYD. 

